This post is being written with two ideas in mind.

1. Sometimes things don’t work.
2. Most of the time it isn’t your fault.

At Sephone, it is no secret that I am not part of the tech geek universe.  But I live in my own marketing geek universe and often times each universe is talking about the same exact thing, only each one is speaking a different language or at the very least speaking from a different point of view.

I am also of the ancient decades when you bought something and started using it, it worked. (MOST of the time.)  So there was little or no second guessing.  It worked and then after a while it broke and it was obvious there was no fixing it, or you weren’t going to be the one doing it.  There were moving parts – physical moving parts, once they stopped moving, you could see what wasn’t working.

But computers, computer programs, web applications, cell phone applications also have moving parts but we cannot see them moving.  The tech universe can dive into the back of the code (which in our world means – going behind the iron curtain), to see what is and isn’t moving, fix it, or realize that it cannot be fixed.

This is the part that gets us non-tech types into trouble.  Applications through things like Facebook are often lightly tested and MOST often don’t work the way they were described at all.  All of a sudden you mouse over something and there you are “spamming” all your friends when you had no idea it would happen!  When you are playing Farmville in the middle of the night or answering a survey, did you really plan on what you were doing at that precise moment be posted all over the Facebook world?

Probably not.

But it isn’t just Facebook – now with a new cell phone I am learning that some of the coolest applications that I could use FOR FREE don’t always work the way I wish they would.  Then for hours, you fiddle with it and it still doesn’t work.  In conversations with some of my tech friends afterward, they say to me, “Oh yeah, I didn’t like that one, so I tried this one and it works much better.”  And they were right.

Meanwhile I look down at the floor at the pile of hair I have pulled out while I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.  The thing just didn’t work. Period.

I can share about 5 or 6 times in the past 30 days, where this was the case.  I wasted countless hours, trying to save time using a tool that was supposed to save me time and all it did was use it up!

Moral of the story?

When you see a “RATE THIS” button
or or

Please participate and comment on the things you are working through yourself so you can share your experience with others.

You are smarter than you think!

When I was cleaning the other day,  I was noticing how many power strips I had in my house and how many “unused” things were plugged into them.  (Along with those things just plugged straight into the wall outlet.)

There are 2 people that live in my house.   We have 4 cell phone chargers – all plugged in and on any given day one of them may be charging a phone  for a couple hours.  I also have chargers for an iPod touch that is most often plugged in somewhere and not charging anything.  If you have kids with cell phones, Gameboys, etc.  you may find that you too, have lots of random chargers plugged in throughout your house.

Now along with doing the right thing and being green and stuff like that,  you also can be costing yourself more money with your power company that is unnecessary.  Unplugging TV’s may not be something  you feel like doing all the time and individually one charger doesn’t generate a ton of power, but if you have 10 of them around your house only being used occasionally, you may want to consider plugging them in when you are charging the devices they are intended for and not leaving them plugged in when you are finished charging.

*thank you CNET for the photo

My niece just got a cell phone.  She is 10 years old.  I have no children, so I am not qualified to comment on whether this is a good idea or not.  When she was a “wee one” of about 3, I would call my brother and he would ask her if she wanted to talk to “Aunt Kelly” she would say, “Too Dangerous.” We thought that was funny.  We thought that she had a sense of humor. Even my brother and sister-in-law thought it was funny.

Well little did I know that because she lived so far away, she didn’t remember me, so I was a STRANGER in her world.  So the whole “STRANGER DANGER” thing took on a whole new meaning. We see them and talk to them often, so I am no longer a stranger to her and we spend summer vacation time together.

For the past few years, she would confiscate her mom or dad’s cell phone and shoot me off a photo or a text message and I would be thinking, “What are they talking about?”  Then I would find out it was my niece and not them.  She is quite versed in using a cell phone – she can text better than they can!

Last Saturday, I got a text message from an unknown number, but from the area code that my brother lives in.  My first text, “Hi Auntie Kelly.”  It is my niece (obviously) she has gotten her first cell phone. Within the next 2 days I must have gotten 10 text messages from her.  Then I thought “Whoops I hope my brother’s package includes unlimited texting.”  (Here’s something that will freak you out – an $18,000/month cell phone bill!)

When you get a cell phone for your kids, it is meant to be a “tool” so you can stay connected, for them it is often considered a “toy.”  Last week,  I posted on our Sephone Blog this article about Facebook Places in relation to “Privacy Settings” .  Then when I started this post, I found this one from safekids.org (which is really a great site for all kinds of things.) In particular, this is about your kids telling too much information or their friends telling too much information on where they are, whom they are with, and at what time.  That may be helpful to you as a parent, but it is also helpful to bullies or predators.  Unfortunately, that is the world we are living in.

Our cell phone people (Central Maine Wireless) are the best.  They actually take the time and really help us make the phones work for what we need them for and everybody is different.  So take the time and make sure you don’t get some whopping bill because your kids usage of the phone may not be the same as yours or maybe things you cannot even imagine are happening BECAUSE of that cell phone. Here is a link that Paul shared with me about features you can apply to the phones you can buy for your kids.

Here is an old post (but a great one) to review when you buy that cell phone or even to use as a learning tool for those that have one all ready.  And have a safe and happy Fall 2010!

We all know people that have cell phones and they only have them “in case of emergency.”  Usually, this emergency they are talking about involves them.  They run out of gas, they break down on the side of the road, they use the phone to get help.  I know for me it can be frustrating because if YOU need their help, they don’t have their phones on, so from my point of view they may as well not have one!  But that is a another topic for another day…

But when I woke up to WABI, TV5 and Todd Simcox, he was telling us that we need to “keep an eye to the sky” for thunderstorms breaking out and the potential for some of them being severe.  That made me think about how we get our information and how my cell phone is KEY in me getting it.  So is your cell phone working for you to keep you safe?

You may take your kids to Little League or soccer practice, maybe you are at the beach or the golf course, the one thing that remains constant – your cell phone is with you, right?  Well start thinking about your phone as more than a phone.  You can sign up for weather alerts to go to your phone, keeping you in the loop with the latest warnings.  Now I am a bit crazy with my phone, (right Central Maine Wireless?) I have a mobile facebook application, I have Uber Twitter for my phone, BUT I have an app from the Weather Channel where I can always check on radar and I can use the internet to see the mobile site for WABI TV5 to stay connected to anything that is happening or going to happen.  (Make sure to check with your cell phone provider for options and if there are any additional charges for text or data services.)

This is a simple way to make sure you know when it is time to take cover, check to see if where you are going is in the warning area.  Don’t be overwhelmed, just try one tool at a time until you find one that works to help you accomplish what you need to accomplish.  I started using weather alerts because I am on the road often and I would like to know (especially in winter) what the weather is where I am going, in Maine we often have several weather changes along the way and this can be problematic when it is snowing where you start, raining at the end and freezing rain in between!  Your reasons may be different, but still these things are helpful and real time savers.

*Photo credit clikr.com

I finally figured it out. I have been getting a bit frustrated with the tone of some of the email messages I have been receiving over the past few months. They seemed to be from the same people, some of the emails were fine, clear and normal, while others seem well a bit snarky. Now anyone that knows me, realizes that I can “snark it up” with the rest of them, but I was surprised by some of them honestly. I was wondering what I had done wrong?

Then I got a new cell phone. Then I saw the light.

One liner emails may often send the wrong tone and you may not even know that you are doing it. I previously had this Motorola Razor phone for about 3 years and loved it, but I hated having to text from it, so I didn’t.

If you are “text-ing” from your cell phone to someone else’s cell phone and using their cell phone number, people expect short messages – it is a cell phone.

If you have a new fangled phone like I do, iPhone, HTC, Blackberry, etc. and you are sending a text message to someone’s email address, it may land on their laptop or desktop or their phone. If they dont understand you are trying to get a quick reply off to them via text message, they may feel a bit jilted, where your normal messages may have a greeting or some pleasantries attached, most often text messages don’t.

A little advice, if you have customers that you are trying to serve, keep this in mind. Let them know your “additional way of communicating” may be a means of efficiency in replying and not poor customer service. Their business is very important to you as well as offer them the alternative NOT to have you answer them through your phone. Often their relationship INCLUDES you as well as the service you provide them. Don’t let speedy, new technology chip away at something you may have spent a long time time working at!

Rather than to repeat two gems of data, I am going to provide you with links for each of them.

It is just more a sign of the times, right? More desperate people, more crime, more opportunists. Father Tom wrote in his blog about someone stealing a cell phone, then the thief calling cell phone owner’s Granny and getting money transferred into a bank account in Canada, that was the “dirtbag’s” and not the cell phone owner’s.

I asked my friend Paul Hilchey Chandler about it, (he is my all favorite & time cell guru), he wrote some suggestions to help prevent this, so he wrote about it.

Both are great reads and worth your time. Especially, if you have kids that leave their phones unattended! Of course the kids “know it all” but they lose their phones anyway!

I asked Paul-Hilchey Chandler of Central Maine Wireless to speak at my Marketing Class at the New England School of Communications, (which is part of Husson University) in Bangor, Maine last week.

Paul is my “Wireless Communications GOD!”
I count on him for everything. Like:

• Tell me my plan isn’t right so I can save money,
• Helping me because I “lost my phone.”
• Letting me know what technology I need and what I can live without because he knows I’ll never use it.

Even though his presentation focused on how cell phones and other hand held devices are used in social networking, he also talked about cell phone and battery “health.”

He had 5 things that even got the attention of my class of “20-somethings….”

HOW TO KILL YOUR CELL PHONE BATTERY…Cell batteries cost REAL MONEY!

#5. Not turning your phone “OFF” if you are in an area where reception is “if-y” – the cell phone is going to try over and over again to find a signal. EVEN IF you don’t need to make a call – it doesn’t matter. The phone still tries to find a way, thus your battery goes dead trying.

This also applies to those fancy bluetooth devices. (Hands Free things that hang on your ear) If you keep your bluetooth connection running even when you aren’t using your bluetooth, the phone is trying to make a connection even when you don’t need to. Draining your battery more quickly, requires charging more often.

#4. Never turning your phone “OFF” – ever. He mentioned we should do this once a week. Your phone and its battery needs to rest. Just like YOU do, turning the phone OFF overnight is helpful just to let it rest and regroup.

#3. Not letting your battery drain completely. It is good to let it go down as far as you are comfortable before turning off and charging. A few years ago I asked a different cell phone person about the NEW battery type in my NEW phone and was told it wasn’t required to completely drain – well, apparently after a few years of history, that isn’t the case, while it doesn’t react so severely as the old batteries did, they still need to get into the RED ZONE before charging for optimal life.

#2. Not turning off your cell phone while it charges, while at home or in the car. The charging activity creates heat and it charges (as well as putting less stress on the battery itself) better while the phone is off.

#1. Talking on your cell phone WHILE charging it in your car charger. Apparently, this is the BIG BAD DADDY of killing a battery. I must confess, I do it all the time and I see people in their cars doing it, so I am not alone. The car charger is a kind of “fast charge” thing that heats the battery up even more than your home charger. If you have the phone “ON” or worse are talking on it while this is happening, it damages the battery and shortens its life.

A really good rule of thumb is the next time you feel your cell phone feeling warm, remember that isn’t the phone, it is the battery. If the battery is warm, it needs a break, so turn off the phone and give it one!

My friend Kelly (it is amazing to me how many Kelly’s I know!) sent me this in an email and I thought it was worth sharing with all of you.

Since this blog is really focused on the sharing of technology (when it makes sense) in a non-technical way. Picture this, your child is in a car or snowboard accident and they are unconscious. The “first responder” or EMT goes through the cell phone in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and they have no idea the codes your kid may have for you or another relative that could give medical consent or need notification.

This is so simple and if using this EMT speak helps them when you cannot do it yourself to say to them, “John is my point of contact in an emergency and here is his number.”

It costs nothing and it is a great idea – especially on your kids phones!

Paramedics are asking that everyone add at least one additional entry to their cell phone contacts list. Please add an ICE entry. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency.

This number should dial the person in your family that can respond to medical decisions if you (or your child) is injured or needs assistance.

If there is an accident, paramedics know to check cell phones for emergency contact information. Imagine taking a look and trying to figure out who to call out of the twenty (I have 178!) or more numbers on your phone?

By adding a contact entry that’s designated as an emergency contact number (ICE), you can make their job much easier and possibly save your child’s or your own life.

So program an ICE entry on your cell phone today, as a matter of fact, pull it out right now as you’re reading this entry. If you have more than one person the paramedics can contact in case of an emergency, you can add additional ICE numbers to your list. Your primary contact should be listed under ICE, then you can add the other contacts under ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.

After you program ICE into your phone, have your spouse, your kids, your parents, and your friends do the same thing. If there are people in your life that you care about, they should all have ICE on their phones.

Let’s not even start on why they have to constantly UPGRADE when you are just getting used to working the one you replaced the last time!

Let’s talk about being green? Green is good, but really, let’s just think for a minute.

2 years ago you bought a cell phone, maybe your “significant other,” (S.O.) kids or whatever you have in your life and you not only have an out of date cell phone that no one will fix, can’t replace the battery or just plain wont work with the new technology on the towers.

I know at my house, I have a charger plugged in, my office I have a charger plugged in, my camp I have a charger plugged in. I also have a charger in my cigarette lighter of my car and my (S.O.) has one in his car for my phone and he is one in mine (we don’t have the same phone- NATURALLY) for his and on and on and on it goes!!

So of course I go off and “GROUSE” to my favorite cell phone dealer, Central Maine Wireless. They hear it from people like me all the time and have no power with Nokia or Motorola to have this nonsense stop. Central Maine Wireless has a program in place where your phone is donated and any money from it goes to a cause they support, in this case a local Project Graduation.

BUT there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Just like GOODWILL or Salvation Army, there is a home for your previously LOVED cell phone and all the components that go with it.

Here is a link for you: http://tinyurl.com/3vugzj this goes to an EPA website that gives you some tips. We also have a domestic violence shelter in our town called Spruce Run and they also can use these old phones. USAA and other veteran organizations often send out envelopes with the postage prepaid to return phones that they can reuse for families that need them.

So even though you have to learn a new phone all over again, you can be sure someone can use your old phone for a good cause. The first place to start is your favorite wireless dealer, pack up all the phones, chargers, earphones in a box and they can make sure they go to a good cause!

This isn’t meant to say, Canada (or Canadians) is bad – It is a great, beautiful place with wonderful people – I go across the border as often as possible, but remember it is a different country and they have different rules.

I live in Maine, and though the province of New Brunswick is closer to my house than the State of New Hampshire, you cannot treat it the same way as the rules in the United States, because it isnt.

I learned a couple of weeks ago from a newscast on Daily Buzz about a family from NJ that got a wireless bill after a trip to Canada of $18,000+ for ONE month.

How the heck did that happen?
It has to be mistake.

NOPE.

Well, it seems that these folks took a vacation in Canada to “get away from it all” and didn’t realize that their kids were” texting” their way through their vacation from the back seat of the car to their friends back home.

How the story goes is that between roaming charges and taxes charged to you by the Canadian carrier (and you have no choice in the matter who that is), you can rack up some serious fees that you wont know about until your next wireless bill long after you have returned.

Do your homework. Go see (or call before you leave) your cell phone people, I go to Central Maine Wireless they have a grip on what I need to do (or not do) before I leave. It takes 2 minutes and it is well worth it.

Think that is a fluke? It happened also to someone in Portland, OR going to Vancouver, BC – click here to read the story. The difference here is that this one is $19,000+ !!

When you talk to your cell phone partner, here are the questions I would ask.

• Is there some temporary solution that I can use for the time I am there?
• Are there things that we don’t do on our phones for the time we are traveling?
• Should I just put the phones away (except for emergencies) while we are traveling?

Vacations are to be memory makers for the family to cherish for years to come, don’t get a “surprise attack” with your cell phone bill coming in the mail! I know a $19,000 unexpected bill- I would certainly remember for the rest of my life!

Other tips are listed here for Canadian travel, not just for cell phone usage from About.com